📍 Monastery📍 Heritage🌄 Viewpoint

Spituk Monastery

Leh, Ladakh, India

4.3 (0)

Overview

The 11th-century Gelugpa gompa on a knoll over the Indus and Leh's runway — home of the masked Gustor festival and a fierce Kali shrine.

Why visit: Planes, prayer halls and river views in one strange harmony.

Things to do

›Dukhang murals
›Kali chapel
›Runway-Indus views
›Gustor masks

Heritage WalkPhotography

Location & MapDirections

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Travel Information

Best time

May–Sep; Gustor (Jan)

Entry fee

₹30–50

Est. budget

₹100–300

Duration

1–2 hrs

Nearby attractions

Within

2.6 km

📍 Museum

4.6

Hall of Fame War Museum

Leh, Ladakh

The Indian Army's moving museum of Ladakh's wars — Siachen gallery, Kargil relics and the evening retreat ceremony.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

5.1 km

📍 Riverside

4.0

Sindhu Ghat & Choglamsar

Choglamsar, Ladakh

The ceremonial Indus riverfront of the Sindhu Darshan festival, beside Choglamsar's Tibetan settlement and the Dalai Lama's teaching ground.

May–Sep; Sindhu Darshan (Jun)1 hrExplore

6 km

📍 Stupa

4.7

Shanti Stupa, Leh

Leh, Ladakh

The white peace pagoda on Changspa hill, built by Japanese Buddhists in 1991 — Leh's favourite sunrise and sunset amphitheatre.

May–Sep; dawn/dusk1–2 hrsExplore

6.1 km

📍 Heritage

4.4

Leh Old Town & Main Bazaar

Leh, Ladakh

The mud-brick maze beneath the palace — LAMO heritage houses, the Jama Masjid, apricot sellers and the pedestrianised bazaar's café life.

May–SepHalf dayExplore

6.3 km

📍 Palace

4.6

Leh Palace

Leh, Ladakh

The nine-storey Lhachen Palkhar of the Namgyal kings (1600s) — a mini-Potala of rammed earth and poplar looming over Leh's old town.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

6.8 km

📍 Monastery

4.4

Namgyal Tsemo Gompa & Tsemo Fort

Leh, Ladakh

The red temple and ruined fort crowning Leh's peak — a three-storey Maitreya and prayer flags snapping over the whole valley.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

6.9 km

📍 Palace

4.3

Stok Palace & Museum

Stok, Ladakh

The living seat of the Namgyal royal family since 1820 — crown jewels, thangkas and queenly peraks in a village under Stok Kangri.

May–Sep2–3 hrsExplore

8.4 km

💎 Hidden Gem📍 Monastery

4.2

Phyang Monastery & Ice Stupa Site

Phyang, Ladakh

The Drikung gompa above the village where Sonam Wangchuk's ice-stupa 'glacier towers' rise each winter to water spring fields.

May–Sep; ice stupas Jan–Apr2–3 hrsExplore

10.6 km

📍 Cultural

4.1

Druk Padma Karpo School (Rancho School)

Shey, Ladakh

The award-winning eco-school made famous by '3 Idiots' — earthquake-safe mud architecture and the beloved 'Rancho's wall'.

May–Sep (visiting hours)1 hrExplore

11 km

📍 Palace

4.4

Shey Palace & Giant Buddha

Shey, Ladakh

The old summer capital's hill palace holding a 12-m copper-gilt Shakyamuni (1655) — Ladakh's largest metal statue — above fields of stupas.

May–Sep1–2 hrsExplore

11.7 km

📍 Pilgrimage

4.5

Gurudwara Pathar Sahib

Nimmu, Ladakh

The army-tended shrine of the boulder bearing Guru Nanak's imprint — langar tea for every traveller on the Kargil road.

May–Sep1 hrExplore

13.3 km

📍 Trek

4.4

Stok Kangri Base & Stok Village Treks

Stok, Ladakh

The 6,153-m trekking peak that made summiteers of thousands (currently rested for conservation) — its base valley still a superb acclimatisation trek.

Jun–Sep2–4 daysExplore